Truth in Your Pocket is an installation composed of hundreds of drawings made using the frottage technique. Each drawing represents the house key of a person who chose to enter into a relationship with the artist. The title, Truth in Your Pocket, refers to an anecdote about Albert Einstein and his view of truth:

“If there were no such thing as truth,” , said Einstein “these keys would be of little use to me—at most, I could fidget with them. But thank God, truth exists, and once we have known it, we cannot be blind to the fact that we know it. So we can recognize when we reach the truth, because truth, as I like to say, is what withstands the test of experience. And the truth of these keys, confirmed through countless experiences, is that they open the door to my house— I’d bet my life on it… Hoping my wife hasn’t changed the lock in the meantime.”

In this case, however, art serves to cast doubt on truth itself: none of the keys can open any door anymore, as the relationship between drawing and object is lost in the vagueness of the technique and becomes purely metaphorical. The work draws on the symbolic and intimate value that house keys hold for each person, and on our willingness—or lack thereof—to question our certainties and open ourselves to the other, the different, the unknown.

About the title:

“Truth in Your Pocket” is a poetic translation of the Italian expression “La verità in tasca”, which carries multiple meanings. On one hand, it suggests a personal and intimate relationship with truth — something small, portable, and always with you, like a house key. On the other, in Italian colloquial usage, it can ironically refer to someone who claims to always be right.
This duality reflects the core of the work: between possession and doubt, between symbolic truth and experiential uncertainty.

title

truth in your pocket

Date

2014-2015

medium

Wax pastel on paper

Size

Site-specific dimensions